Sermon notes
November 18th, 2007
“About Wandering”
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By Dan Armstrong
One definition of change is simply “the inevitable movement of life’s forces”. But another definition, more personal, is “the unpleasant experience of being shoved from a place of familiarity to a place of anxiety while desperately reaching once again for security”. You are a church going through some change.
This Thanksgiving…I invite you to find yourselves…and things to be thankful for…in the story of the exodus and wilderness wanderings.
1. The exodus story is, first of all, a story of the (ending) of one experience and the (beginning) of another. Every new chapter begins with the closing of the previous chapter. Before the children of Israel wandered, before they eventually made it to the promised land, before any of the rest of the story…they left Egypt.
Acts 7:36 “He (God) led them out of Egypt and did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the desert”.
2. The exodus story is, secondly, a story of a people (seeking), (discovering), and (clarifying) God’s will. This is the scary part. Having let go of the past…not yet safe in the new future…we wander and grope. It’s a journey through uncharted territory…through chaos and wilderness.
Psalm 107:6 “Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle…they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.”
3. The third thing the exodus story is about is a (person) for the (in-between time): Moses. Transitional leaders keep us on task, reminding us of God’s faithfulness, while we cope with uncomfortable, unfamiliar circumstances.
Exodus 14:13-14 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.”
